Friday, January 10, 2014

To The Wonder (2013)

Title: To the Wonder (2012)

Director: Terrence Malick

Cast: Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, Rachel
McAdams

Certain directors out there make films that are an
experience to watch, these films don’t subscribe to any ideas of what a film
should be, these types of films are made to be taken in without any
expectations; you simply have to experience them. Films like these lean more
towards the artistic, the ‘avante garde’, the experimental. I’m talking about
guys like David Lynch, Werner Herzog or Andrei Tarkovsky, all directors, like
Malick, who will show you that the world is beautiful and strange enough on its
own, without the aid of special effects. These guys don’t make films with box office
numbers in mind ; if their movies make money, it’s a by-product of the thing,
what they care most about is making a film that will linger on after you watch it,
a film that will stir your emotions; films that will leave a lasting impression
on you. I urge you to watch films by these directors, you can rest assured they’ll
leave a mark on your psyche and your emotions, because directors like these
care most about making you feel while commenting on the little intricacies of the
human condition.

The thing with directors like these is that depending on
your appreciation/tolerance for art and style, you’ll either love their films
or hate them. I fall under the ‘I freaking love Terrence Malick’ category. Why?
Well, what can I say, the guy makes films that move me, that speak to me even
when there is no dialog being spoken, which by the way is a signature stamp on
Malick films; images take over and speak. “A picture can say more than a
thousand words” is a phrase that comes to mind when I watch a Malick film; what
I love about the beautiful vistas and landscapes that Malick catches with his lenses
is that they speak about that beauty of nature that leaves us speechless; you
know how sometimes you’ll look at a spectacular sunset, or bask in the beauty
of nature and you can’t help but be blown away by the magnificence of it all?
About how beautiful it all is? That’s what To the Wonder is largely about, a
love letter to nature and the beauty of life, which is in large part whatTheTree of Life(2011), Malick’s previous film, was all about as well. But while
The Tree of Life focused entirely on the magnificence of life, To the Wonder dives
more into themes of relationships and faith. It is both things, a love letter
to life and an exploration of the ins and outs of love.

On this film we meet Neil (Affleck) and Marina (Kurylenko)
precisely at the moment when they have started to fall in love with each other,
you know, those moments when physical attraction is the strongest and people can’t
seem to keep their hands to themselves? When the smallest of caresses means a
world, that time of the relationship when you feel you’re walking on air, ah, the beauty
of the beginning. The film is amazing in that it focuses on those little
details that demonstrate that these two individuals are really into each other,
the looks, the caresses. But again, Malick doesn’t focus so much on dialog, it’s
not what these characters say but what they do that lets us know what is going
on. We do hear inner monologue as the characters whisper to
themselves how they are feeling, so be ready for a film that doesn’t have
people saying “I love you” or “I trust you”; nope, one this movie characters
show these things with their actions towards each other. For example, in the
film, Affleck has a fling with Rachel McAdams and she’s a horse wrangler, a cow
girl every step of the way; she’s fallen deeply in love with Affleck, but he
doesn’t want to settle down. She wants to marry him and she’s trying to sort of
reel him into it, the same way she would wrangle her untamable wild horses. All
a visual allegory to how Affleck’s character doesn’t want to get tied down by marriage.
Malick does this type of allegorical thing with the images all throughout.

I’ve always thought that relationships, no matter how strong
the bond is at first, have an expiration date to them. I am of the opinion that
nothing lasts “forever”, to me everything changes, which is why I don’t believe
in marriage. Why get tied down to someone legally, when eventually both
grow tired of each other? Everything starts out fine and dandy, but around the
four to five year mark you’ll start annoying the hell out of each other to the
point where one can’t stand being with the other. But I digress, I'm sure marriage works for some, but what I have seen in this world, it rarely does. The film targets those first blissful moments of the
beginning of a relationship and those awful moments when the magic is gone and
you’re left with nothing but hatred and contempt for each other. There is a scene in which Affleck is trying to
hug and caress his wife and she pushes him away, a scene in which we see that obviously,
the love is gone. Why do people forget why they fell in love with each other?
Why do we forget what made it all work in the first place? Then there’s the
issue of freedom, which you kind of loose once you are entangled with someone.
In the film, Marina is a free spirit, always dancing and basking in the beauty
of nature while Affleck is detached, quiet and introspective. In one particular
scene, Marina’s best friend comes from France and tells her to go back to being
the free spirit that she is, to go back to France and feel alive! In this scene
Malick alludes to how Marina’s relationship to Affleck has degenerated to the
point where the relationship sucked the vitality out of her. She’s no longer
the crazy, free spirited being she once was. So is being with somebody “forever
and ever” a good thing for you, or will it end up being a soul sucking experience?
You be the judge; I’m sure there’s such a thing as eternal love for another
person, it’s just so damn rare. But anyhow, these are the themes the film
explores in regards to relationships.

Through the character of Father Quintana; Malick explores
issues of faith. It’s interesting because in the film Quintana is a person whom
people look up to as a spiritual leader, yet secretly, he doubts the existence
of god. It’s not that he doesn’t believe in God, it’s just that he’s never had
any real proof of his existence, he wants to believe but has no physical or
empirical evidence to do so. This is something that happens to people who start
to question faith; secretly in your mind you tell yourself it’s all feeling
like a bunch of bull, but you don’t dare say it out loud for fear that someone
might discover you are beginning to doubt God. In Father Quintana’s case, his
doubt is starting to show on his face; so much so that his own parishioners begin
to tell him he doesn’t look happy. His doubts are so strong, he feels his life as
a preacher is a lie. Yet while the film does question the existence of God, at
the same time it’s an ode to the wonder of the world, the beauty of nature and
the planet which is something real and undeniable. There are many scenes in
which the camera simply focuses on the beauty of a breathtaking landscape or
some curious thing that happens in the world, like the wind blowing through the
trees, or the water forming odd shapes on the sand. The way I see it, Malick
sees the world the way I see it, as a constant wonder, no matter how small or
seemingly insignificant the event, according to this film, there’s beauty in
everything and Malick wants you to see that. Without a doubt, one of the most
beautiful looking films of the year.

Francisco, Terrence Malick is a great film-maker, no question about it, and at 70 he still might direct another 4 or 5 great movies before he retires at 90, i just 'wonder' though how much longer he can expect to get away with all this "existential" non-mainstream stuff ?. It would be nice if he could make one blockbuster for the multi-plexes before he decides to retire. He is (as you rightly said) the American Tarkovsky, but Malick has the option to make a blockbuster should he so choose, Tarkovsky didn`t.

Wow, you've seen a lot of winners lately. I think the last 4 of your last reviews were 5 out of 5. Nice. You may find this shocking, but I've never given Malick a shot. lol. Never seen any of his films. Gasp!!

Yeah, true, I've seen a lot of winners lately, I've seen a lot of films that I can't bring myself to review too. Malick is an acquired taste...especially when it comes to his last two films The Tree of Life and To the Wonder, lots of existencialism, I dig that sort of vibe, to me his last two films are very powerful in a way that no other filmmaker's films are. They talk without talking, they are an experience. Just beautiful imagery and very human themes, if you like that sort of thing I highly recommend these two.